Battle of Short Hills

Fought on June 26, 1777, in Scotch Plains and Edison, New Jersey, this engagement pitted a Continental force under Brigadier General William Alexander, known as "Lord Stirling," against British troops led by Lieutenant General William Howe. It carries the alternate title of the Battle of Metuchen Meetinghouse, among still other names, and despite what its most common label suggests, none of the actual combat unfolded in the area now called Short Hills, part of Millburn.

The origins of the clash trace back to mid-June, when Howe pushed the bulk of his army into the center of New Jersey. His goal was to draw George Washington's Continental Army away from its secure position in the Watchung Mountains and into more vulnerable terrain. Washington declined to take the bait, holding firm in the hills, so Howe pulled his forces back to Amboy on June 22. Throughout this maneuvering, Washington's leading divisions, Stirling's among them, kept close watch on the British troops, and Washington eventually brought his main body down from the heights.

Seeing an opening, Howe struck on June 26, sending two columns forward in a bid to sever Washington's army from the high ground it had abandoned. His men clashed first in skirmishes with Stirling's soldiers before the fighting escalated into a full engagement at Scotch Plains. Facing superior numbers, Stirling's men were forced to withdraw. By that point, however, Washington had already gotten word of the British advance and pulled his main force safely back into the hills.

Background

Boston fell out of British hands in March 1776, its occupying force under Lieutenant General William Howe pulling back after Major General George Washington had seized and fortified the heights overlooking the city and its harbor. Fresh troops arriving from Europe strengthened Howe's army, enabling him to seize New York City and push Washington into a long retreat spanning the width of New Jersey. As that year drew to a close, Washington crossed back over the Delaware River and struck the Hessian garrison at Trenton on December 26, 1776, winning that fight and going on to reclaim most of New Jersey for his cause. With that, the opposing armies hunkered down for winter quarters, trading only smaller skirmishes through the early months of 1777.

During those winter months, Howe turned his attention to plotting a campaign against Philadelphia, the city housing the rebellious Congress. His forces in New Jersey had been worn down by the near constant harassment of the cold season, and an April assault on the Continental Army's post at Bound Brook, though significant, failed to achieve full success. Howe seems to have kept his strategy and his intended path toward Philadelphia largely to himself, leaving Washington uncertain of his adversary's next move, though he suspected the city might well be Howe's object. On May 29, Washington shifted the bulk of his forces away from their winter camp near Morristown, taking up a commanding position at Middlebrook in the Watchung Mountains, a spot that let him watch for and disrupt any British advance toward Philadelphia.

This engagement rarely receives a fixed title from the historians who bring it up at all. Many refer to it as "Short Hills," despite the fighting having unfolded mostly around what are now Edison and Scotch Plains, New Jersey. Other names circulate as well: David Martin prefers "Flat Hills" or "Metuchen Meeting House," while a British regimental history calls it simply "Westfield."

Prelude

On the ninth of June, Howe set his troops in motion, shifting them from Staten Island toward Perth Amboy. Two days later, on June 11, the bulk of his forces pushed up the roadways bordering the Raritan River until they reached New Brunswick. Word reaching Washington through his intelligence sources suggested that Howe had abandoned the equipment necessary for a Delaware River crossing, making a push toward Philadelphia seem improbable. Taking no chances, Washington summoned the militia of southern New Jersey to be ready. On June 14, Howe's forces set out again, this time heading for Somerset Court House, known today as Millstone. He lingered there for five days, evidently hoping to lure Washington down from the high ground into open combat. Washington would not budge from the hills, and by June 19 Howe had turned his army back toward Perth Amboy, arriving there on June 22 once New Brunswick stood entirely empty of his troops.

Having declined the bait Howe had set, Washington trailed the withdrawing army, shifting his own forces from Middlebrook down to Quibbletown. He dispatched a sizable advance force under Brigadier General William Alexander, known to history as "Lord Stirling," toward Scotch Plains just north of New Brunswick, with orders to guard his left flank and press the retreating enemy. Stirling led roughly 2,500 men, drawn from William Maxwell's New Jersey brigade, Thomas Conway's Pennsylvania brigade, Daniel Morgan's riflemen, and the corps under Ottendorf. Max

Legacy

Roughly 300 acres, or about 120 hectares, of the battlefield site sit within Edison Township, and this ground earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. The listed acreage stretches across both township-owned property and a section belonging to the Plainfield Country Club. For those wishing to witness the conflict brought back to life, Oak Tree Pond Park in Edison serves as the grounds where reenactments take place.